The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Alanna Cleare will carry the Bahamian flag at the Pan American Fencing Championships in Panama City, Panama, this week.

Cleare, along with her coach Maestro Andy D Lewis, her mother Judy, and younger brother Alexio, are scheduled to leave town on Wednesday for the championships, which also serves as a qualifier for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

“We are happy and elated with work that Alanna has put in,” said Wellington Miller, president of the Bahamas Olympic Committee. “To make it this far where she has been given an invitation to compete in the tournament is just remarkable.

“We’re hoping that her performance will be good enough for her to get a universal invitation to compete in the Olympic Games, as was done for Emily Morley in rowing. If she gets the invitation, it will be another non-traditional sport that the Bahamas will be participating in at the Olympics.”

Although the sport has been around since 1970, it’s slowly gaining some national recognition and Miller is hoping that this trip to Panama by Cleare will help to improve its international prominence as well.

Cleare, a 21-year-old bio-chem student at the College of the Bahamas, said she’s looking forward to the trip because the last time she travelled, she didn’t get to compete because of some mix up with her entry.

“I’m looking forward to competing in the tournament this year and I’m looking forward to winning a medal for my country,” said Cleare, who hails from Inagua where she attended the All-Age School.

“If it’s anything like the competition that I saw when I went away before, I expect that it will be very stiff, but I am confident that I will do very well.”

Cleare’s weapon of choice is foil, the most popular, commonly used by those starting to learn the art of the sport’s weapons. With a flexible, light blade, it allows for a lighter touch. During duels, points are scored by touching the point of the blade on the adversary’s torso.

Sabre, which has the most flexible blade of the three weapons and so demands impeccable rapidity and reflexes, is another choice. Fencers may land a touch using the point or edge, a characteristic heavily inspired by the weapons used by cavalry soldiers during wars.

And the final one is épée, the more rigid, heavier weapon, ideal for competitors who are taller and stronger, and with a longer range. This weapon best represents the duels that gave rise to the sport of fencing centuries ago. Touches may be landed on the adversary’s whole body, although only hits with the point of the épée score points.

Lewis said through Cleare’s attendance at the last international event in 2014, she was granted permission to compete in this tournament.

“She has been performing very well and we expect that she will go to Panama and I expect that she will perform exceptionally well there as well,” said Lewis, who has worked on and off with Cleare for the past three years.

Three years ago when the sport started to gain some national prominence, it was held at the Judo Centre in Joe Farrington Road. The group had an interest of 25 competitors at Akhepran International Academy on Bernard Road and Lewis said they had more than 100 to be considered at the Carmichael Road Community Centre.

Cleare’s mother, Judy, said she’s looking forward to watching her daughter compete.

“I’ve only had a chance to watch her compete once before,” she said. “She’s improved quite a bit from the time I watched her, so I’m looking forward to travelling with her on this trip. I know that she will do very well.”